Martin Lewis has revealed the top 10 firms it pays to haggle with, along with a "really shocking" call centre discovery. The consumer champion urged anyone nearing the end of a contract for insurance, breakdown cover, or other services to try negotiating a better deal with their provider, especially if they are satisfied with the service and wish to avoid switching.
"Don't just accept your renewal, especially in the right industries, you can often save a shed-load," Lewis said. He noted that many firms charge the maximum a customer is willing to pay, and a simple phone call can save hundreds of pounds annually.
Lewis explained that telling a company you plan to leave often leads to being transferred to customer disconnections, where staff have the authority to offer discounts. "If you're not getting the deal you want, get yourself through to customer disconnections," he advised. He discouraged bluntly demanding the best offer, emphasizing that haggling is a negotiation requiring politeness and respect for call centre agents.
Lewis shared results from a survey on the most successful providers for haggling:
- RAC: 91% success rate
- AA breakdown: 90%
- Virgin Media: 85%
- Admiral Insurance: 83%
- Hastings insurance: 82%
- AA insurance: 80%
- TalkTalk: 73%
- Sky Mobile: 72%
- Sky TV: 69%
- LV: 69%
Referring to the top two, he told BBC Radio 5: "The golden rule is that when you are coming to the end of your breakdown cover, do not simply accept the price you are getting." He advised looking for the best deal elsewhere and asking your current provider to match it. "If you don't get the deal you want, feel free to ditch and switch," he added.
Lewis also shared tips from anonymous call centre agents, including that non-aggressive customers often get better deals as agents have a daily quota of discounts. One tip that "sent chills through me" was that call handlers can still hear customers even when hold music is playing, contrary to common assumptions.
